1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a jewelry piece for holding the ends of a plurality of strings of ornamental objects such as strings of beads made of a valuable metal. The end bead of each such string is held in parallel side by side relation in the jewelry piece and can be readily disconnected therefrom or the jewelry piece can act as one member of a coupling for connecting a further series of bead strings together.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Jewelry is worn in a wide range of different styles and it is frequently the desire of the wearer to repeat a given pattern in a variety of jewelry items such as a necklace, bracelet, or earrings. A wearer may have a supply of a favorite item such as a beaded gold chain that she desires to use in different lengths in one or more of the aforementioned items.
The prior art has dealt with this problem in a variety of different ways, none of them being completely satisfactory. Miller U.S. design Pat. No. D57,180 discloses a bracelet made of a plurality of strings of beads held in parallel side by side relation but the strings are held in a permanent mount where removal or rearrangement is difficult. U.S. Pat. No. 1,646,999 to Goodridge discloses a spacer bar that can be closed over several rows of parallel beads to hold them in a desired spaced relation but again the bar, once clamped is difficult to pry open and change the relationship of the rows.
McFarland U.S. Pat. No. 2,644,992 teaches a bead chain clamp for jewelry with a pair of connectable end members, each having a plurality of individual slots for insertion of the end bead of a string of beads. Each end bead must be inserted in its own respective slot. U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,708 to Ivey discloses a jewelry chain organizer that clamps around parallel rows of bead chains that are already in a desired arrangement. Romano U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,871 teaches a jewelry system with a necklace that can be disassembled and reconfigured to form a single or double strand bracelet through a series of disconnectable elements.
This invention relates to a jewelry piece for holding the ends of a plurality of strings of ornamental objects such as beads made of a valuable metal. Such strings are held in parallel side by side relation in the jewelry piece and can be readily disconnected therefrom or the jewelry piece can act as one member of a coupling for connecting a further series of bead strings together. The jewelry piece is a flat U shaped body with a bight and a long leg and a short leg extending perpendicularly from the bight. When used as a coupling two U shaped jewelry pieces are interdigitated with the short leg of each jewelry piece being positioned between the legs of an adjacent jewelry piece. A slot is formed in the outer peripheral edge of each jewelry piece, at least along the edge of the long leg and an end bead of a chain of beads can be fitted into an end opening of the slot so that only the end bead is held in the slot and the remainder of the string can hang out from the slot and be supported by the jewelry piece. The end bead of each of a plurality bead strings can each be fitted side by side into the slot so that the strings will be supported from the piece in parallel side by side relation. When all of the bead strings are cut to the same length, a second jewelry piece can be similarly fitted to the second end. Then the two jewelry pieces can be interdigitated together to form a coupling for a bracelet or a necklace, ring, or belt. If the second end is left free, that is, without a jewelry piece being attached thereto, then a special pin can be a connected to the jewelry piece so it, with the bead strings hanging from the slot, the jewelry piece and beads can be used as a brooch, pin, tie clip, tie pin, cufflink or pendent. Alternatively the bead strings can be cut to different lengths for decorative effect. Of course a bracelet, a necklace, and a brooch can all be formed so that the wearer can have a matching ensemble of jewelry.